The Signifying Creator : Nontextual Sources of Meaning in Ancient Judaism / Michael D. Swartz.
2012
BM530 .S88 2012
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Title
The Signifying Creator : Nontextual Sources of Meaning in Ancient Judaism / Michael D. Swartz.
Author
Swartz, Michael D., author.
ISBN
9780814723784
Published
New York, NY : : New York University Press, [2012]
Copyright
©2012
Language
English
Language Note
In English.
Description
1 online resource
Item Number
10.18574/nyu/9780814740934.001.0001 doi
Call Number
BM530 .S88 2012
Dewey Decimal Classification
296.3
Summary
For centuries, Jews have been known as the "people of the book." It is commonly thought that Judaism in the first several centuries CE found meaning exclusively in textual sources. But there is another approach to meaning to be found in ancient Judaism, one that sees it in the natural world and derives it from visual clues rather than textual ones. According to this conception, God embedded hidden signs in the world that could be read by human beings and interpreted according to complex systems.In exploring the diverse functions of signs outside of the realm of the written word, Swartz introduces unfamiliar sources and motifs from the formative age of Judaism, including magical and divination texts and new interpretations of legends and midrashim from classical rabbinic literature. He shows us how ancient Jews perceived these signs and read them, elaborating on their use of divination, symbolic interpretation of physical features and dress, and interpretations of historical events. As we learn how these ancient people read the world, we begin to see how ancient people found meaning in unexpected ways.
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Access limited to authorized users.
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Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
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text file PDF
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 18. Sep 2023)
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print 9780814740934
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Table of Contents
Frontmatter
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Myths of Creation
3. The Semiotics of the Priestly Vestments
4. Divination and Its Discontents
5. Bubbling Blood and Rolling Bones
6. Conclusions
Notes
Index
About the Author
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Myths of Creation
3. The Semiotics of the Priestly Vestments
4. Divination and Its Discontents
5. Bubbling Blood and Rolling Bones
6. Conclusions
Notes
Index
About the Author